The Price
by Hah and Mer
Summary: Melia left everything she had for the young Tok'ra. The cost may have been higher than she expected. Balia fic. Now with chapter 4!
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** The Price  
**Author:** Hah  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst  
**Warnings:** None  
**Season/Spoilers:** None. Only for my own little twisted reality. Oh, and a shout out to the BBB thread on Gateworld.  
**Summary:** Melia left everything for the young Tok'ra. The cost may have been higher than she expected.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.

**AN:** Okay, now it's my turn for a solo effort. I actually started this one months ago, but it was recently uncovered while waiting for Mer to finish working on Waking Dreams so she can do the next chapter of Firegate. This one is all Em's fault! ETA: Melia is the Ancient chick from the hologram in the pilot of Stargate: Atlantis. Pedroche is… well, you'll just have to wait & see (but you do know him)!

- - - - -

**The Price**

By Hah

Melia was restless. Ancients weren't often restless, especially the Ascended. Nonetheless, instead of contemplating her enlightenment, Melia found herself desiring more and more to interact with that which she was assigned to watch. She knew what the Others would tell her: "the cosmic scale is so much greater than any one race or even a galaxy," but the thought that being enlightened really didn't do the grand cosmic scheme any good if she never shared that enlightenment gnawed at her with increasing frequency. She wondered what actually would constitute a universal crisis, and if everything else was on such a small scale why it mattered whether or not they interfered.

Most recently, she had been observing the conflict between the Tok'ra and the Goa'uld. She watched as Tok'ra operatives were captured and died bravely rather than give up their brothers and sisters. She watched symbiotes give up their lives for their hosts-as well as the sake of the race known as humans-with no recognition, for the very knowledge of their existence would make them even more vulnerable.

Finally, she could take no more. One of the system lords had captured a Tok'ra and was torturing him, reviving him in the sarcophagus and torturing him again. Day after day, over and over, she watched as he writhed in agony at the hands of the cruel system lord. After a week of watching his suffering and his courage, Melia knew she had to intervene. She saw in him the bravery she had come to recognize in his kind, but there was something else about him that drew her.

When he was returned to his cell after the latest round of interrogation, she appeared to the guards in her ascended form, and enveloped the young man and took him to the nearest planet. When she arrived, her father was waiting for her.

"Just what exactly do you think you're doing, Melia?" he demanded.

"I couldn't just let them torture him anymore, Papa," she responded, her voice pleading with him to understand.

"You know that we're not allowed to interfere, my child. Besides, what are you going to do with him once he's well again? His kind must not know of our existence."

"But he is one of the honorable warriors, Papa. He would not betray us." She knew it was a losing battle, but the argument flew from her lips just the same.

"You know the rules, my dear; you cannot have it both ways. Either you can live with us and follow the rules, or you can retake our prior physical form." He watched as she stared intently into his eyes. Obviously, she had been giving this some serious thought, and continued to do so. After a few moments, her chin came up in a stubborn fashion that reminded him a bit of her mother, and he almost smiled at the familiarity of the expression, despite the gravity of the situation.

"Well, then, I guess I'll have to take physical form. I can't let him die like this." The set of her shoulders and that all too familiar raised chin told him there was no use arguing with her. Her mind was made up, and as much has he hated to admit it, she was a grown woman.

"Alright," he said, voice husky with emotion, "we must honor your desires."

Instantaneously, the glow to which she had become accustomed over the centuries faded, and it was as if her whole body was made of lead. She felt weakened and regretted her decision for a brief moment, until she looked in the face of the man lying helpless on the ground. No, this was something that she had to do. The Others would see, one person could change things on a grand scale.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **The Price  
**Author:** Hah  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst  
**Warnings:** None  
**Season/Spoilers:** None. Only for my own little twisted reality.  
**Summary:** Melia left everything for the young Tok'ra. The cost may have been higher than she expected.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.  
**AN: **Thanks to Em & Missy for betaing!

**Chapter 2**

The first few days were difficult beyond her wildest dreams. In addition to readjusting to a corporeal form that required food, water, sleep & shelter, she had a desperately hurting patient. Worse than the physical wounds left by the torture, which the sarcophagus had more or less healed, was the physiological trauma caused by the repeated use of the sarcophagus. He would thrash uncontrollably, his eyes flashing and phlanged voice demanding to be sent back for "proper treatment." Melia quickly found a native plant that had sedative qualities and made a thin paste to keep him sedated most of the time. Even in sleep the tortured soul of the symbiote would cry out, recounting horrors of centuries gone past. She knew that the sedative was only a stop-gap measure. Eventually, human and symbiote would need to heal themselves.

---

When Pedroche finally woke up, a young woman was gazing intently at him in the firelight. He watched as relief spread over her lovely features and warmed her brown eyes. She looked somewhat familiar, but his memories of the past few days were vague at best.

"It is good to see you awake and coherent," the mystery woman said.

"Wh-where am I?" he replied, still dazed. "Who are you? How did I get here?"

"Shh. You're safe now. Don't worry."

The young man's eyes lit up as his symbiote took over. "Where are the others? We must rejoin them!" Clearly agitated, he began to push the makeshift covering back and tried to get up.

"You're in no condition to travel now. You've been severely injured." To prove her point, she lightly pushed back on his shoulder and he fell back easily on to the pallet. As his head hit the leaf-filled pillow, the host regained control.

"My symbiote will heal me. I have to get back to them!" He struggled against her, but in his weakened state, she easily pinned him down, slipped some of the sedative into his mouth and waited for him to calm.

"Get some rest," she whispered as she smoothed his hair back and kissed his forehead, as had become her custom when he fell asleep.

As she turned to go, his hand reached out and touched her arm. "Wait, my name is Pedroche. What is yours?"

"Melia," she answered, smiling gently, but he was already fast asleep.

---

When he woke late that evening, Pedroche was famished. With the dark haired beauty out of sight, he once again attempted to get up from his palette. From a seated position, he looked around him for the first time since he arrived on this strange planet. They were in a cave with only two mats and a fire. This didn't seem to be the work of a civilized people. As host and symbiote sat contemplating what to do and how to go about finding the stargate on this planet - if there was one - the thought of a certain young woman kept invading Pedroche's mind. His memories of the past few days were starting to come back in bits and pieces, and he knew that he owed her his life. Memories of how she had rescued him were still very fuzzy, but he knew that she must be a very special woman to have rescued him from the Goa'uld. The scent of food wafted in through the cave's opening. With his stomach growling even louder now that its goal was in range, Pedroche struggled to his feet and paused for a moment to steady himself.

Outside, Melia was doing some contemplating of her own. Pedroche was almost physically ready to rejoin his kind, but she wasn't ready to deal with the possibility of separation from him. Of course, if they didn't find a stargate, it wouldn't be an issue, but even the thought of parting with him caused her to shudder inwardly. Despite her charge's proximity to death, or maybe because of it, she felt more alive than she ever had before. While observation had a sort of fascination for her, it was nothing compared to the satisfaction of physical contact and actually being a part of someone's life. That, along with the fact that she finally admitted to herself that she had unwittingly fallen head over heels in love with her patient, caused a serious dilemma. She was torn between wanting to stay here for the rest of her natural life alone with him and wanting to somehow take him to Kheb so that Oma Desala could help him ascend so that they could be together forever. One way or the other, she needed to tell him who she really was. She stood, squared her shoulders, raised her chin, took a deep breath, and headed towards the cave to tell him.

Slowly she became aware that something was wrong, but couldn't put her finger on it. Suddenly she jumped up and ran over to the fire where she had been cooking and cried out in frustration and then in pain as she saw the large animal skull which she had been using as a pot boiling over and attempted to remove it without using any type of guard against the heat. In her pensive mood she had completely forgotten about dinner.

As she surveyed the damage, she heard a crash from inside the cave, dropped the pot and ran to see what happened. She found Pedroche crumpled on the ground and knelt to see what had happened.

"I heard you scream. I thought they had found us." Fear flashed in his eyes, mixed with the regret of all those who he had not been able to save from the wrath of the system lords. He had a long memory, but he couldn't remember caring about someone so completely, especially so quickly

Relieved that he was okay, Melia put her left hand on the side of his face and ran the fingers of her right hand through his hair. "No, we're safe here. No one can find us. It's just the two of us," she said in a near whisper, her eyes burning into his. Seeing her own passion mirrored in his eyes, Melia placed a gentle kiss on his cheek before moving to his lips.

"Stay with me tonight?" he said against her lips.

She answered by wrapping her arms around him and kissing him again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** The Price  
**Author:** Hah  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst  
**Warnings:** None  
**Season/Spoilers:** None.  
**Summary:** Melia left everything for the young Tok'ra. The cost may have been higher than she expected.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.

**Chapter 3**

The next few days were like a beautiful dream for the couple. All they had was each other, but that didn't matter. Intrigue, wars, and eternal enlightenment with all its rules and regulations were a million light-years away. They settled into a routine of sorts-he would go out in the morning and hunt or fish for the day's meat while she would prepare the grain and fruit cereal. After breakfast, they would pack up camp, such as it was, and explore the planet, looking for better sources of food and shelter, or better yet, a possible civilization, and if there happened to be a pond that required testing as a swimming hole, then so be it. When the sun started going down, they would find shelter for the night, talk around the fire until late at night about places they had been and people they had met, and fall asleep in each other's arms.

Finally, the day she had been dreading came. They came across a clearing and there stood what the Tok'ra called the chappa'ai. The pair stood at the edge of the clearing for a few minutes, just staring at the large ring, both knowing that their lives had changed in a huge way, but neither were sure just how.

"I guess I knew this was too good to last," Pedroche broke the silence.

Melia was slightly taken aback. The ease with which he could just toss all that they had together aside was like a slap in the face. "What do you mean? It doesn't have to end, not here."

He turned to her and took her face in his hands. "I cannot overlook my responsibility to my people and to all those in slavery to the Goa'uld. It's my purpose in life."

She took a deep breath and started in to her sales pitch. "There may be another way. What if I told you that you could have a perfect perspective on the universe and know everything there is to know." Before he had the chance to interrupt her, she hurried on, "There's an Ascended on the planet Kheb whose name is Oma Desala. She helps people ascend to a higher plane of existence." She went on to explain the ascension process and what it meant. "She can help you ascend, then we can be together forever. Can you imagine it - the two of us wandering the universe with no limitations?"

"Melia, I..."

"Wait," she pleaded, seeing the rejection of her offer in his eyes, "you don't have to make up your mind right now. Think about it. You can even go back and tie up loose ends with your people if you need to. Stay with me tonight, go back tomorrow, and then if you decide to ascend, you can meet me at Kheb in a couple of weeks."

Unable to stand her pleading any longer, Pedroche gave in. "Okay, I'll think about it," he replied, gazing tenderly into her eyes. He smoothed her hair back and kissed her on the forehead much the same way as she had done to him when he was sick. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest, knowing somehow that this would very likely be one of their last moments together.

---

The next day, Melia woke with a heavy heart. She rolled over to watch Pedroche as he slept, only to find him watching her.

"I do love you, you know," he said, his voice husky with emotion.

"Yes, and I love you. Part of me wishes that we had never found the stargate."

"It's no use dwelling on what might have been," he replied, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "No matter what happens or where I go, I will always carry you with me in my heart."

"And I, you," she said, tears in her eyes.

There was a melancholy air about the couple as they packed up camp for the last time. They tried to keep the mood light, but their inevitable parting hung over them like a dark cloud. When he finally dialed the home world of a race of Tok'ra allies - for certainly his people would have moved after he had been captured - they stood for a moment, trying to capture this one last memory of being in each other's arms.

"Think about what I said, okay?" Melia made her final plea. "I'll be on Kheb in two weeks. It would mean the universe to me if you were there with me."

"I will seriously consider it," he assured her. Then, after a final embrace, he stepped through the event horizon and she was left more alone than she had ever felt before.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** The Price  
**Author:** Hah  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst  
**Warnings:** None  
**Season/Spoilers:** None.  
**Summary:** Melia left everything for the young Tok'ra. The cost may have been higher than she expected.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.  
AN: Just in case y'all haven't figured, this isn't canon, nor do I believe that it has any support from any mythological standpoint. It's just where the bunnies led. Enjoy with reality fully suspended!

**Chapter 4**

The next two weeks seemed an eternity to Melia. Everything she saw reminded her of Pedroche. He had made an indelible mark on her life, and now he was gone. She tried to stay optimistic, but deep down she knew that the same qualities that made her fall in love with him were the same qualities that would not allow him to leave the Tok'ra.

At last the time came for her to travel to Kheb. As she feared, Pedroche was not there to meet her. She waited for two days, sitting in view of the gate until she fell asleep, hoping that _just maybe_ he had only been delayed.

Her good friend, Oma Desala, brought food out and stayed with her for hours, listening as the younger woman poured out her heart and holding her as she wept.

"Come back to the temple with me, Melia. The secret burden you carry will soon give you a joy you never knew was possible."

Through her tears, Melia had to smile. Even among the Ascended, Oma was known to have a way with words. She wiped her eyes and sniffed. "Thank you, Oma," she sighed, leaning her head on her friend's shoulder. "You would think that after having the wisdom of the Ascended I would be able to handle this with a bit more dignity. It seems lately that my emotions are beyond my control."

"It's only natural for someone in your condition."

"I was not aware that being heartbroken and weak-minded was a condition," she responded wryly.

"Listen with your heart, Melia. You will hear deep within you an echo of the love that was."

Melia sat up and turned to look at Oma, head tilted slightly to the side in deep thought. She knew there was something important behind Oma's comment, but at the moment she was too emotionally drained to spend a lot of energy contemplating much of anything. Suddenly, a life of observation and contemplation without the burden of interaction sounded quite appealing. She shook her head as if to clear it and the pair stood and walked back to the temple, where Melia fell into a deep sleep back in her temporary abode, for now unaware of the life growing inside her.

Pedroche had seen better days. The planet to which he had traveled had been seized by one of the system lords, and he was immediately captured. Once the jaffa realized he was Tok'ra, he was taken to their master for interrogation. It was the memory of her face and their time together that he held onto when the torture became unbearable, and her name on his lips in his tortured dreams. After a couple of weeks, he found that his symbiote was taking more control with each trip to the sarcophagus. His fragile human psyche hadn't had time to properly recover from his previous overexposure. The symbiote, too, was losing its grip on the essence of what it meant to be Tok'ra. Host and symbiote struggled together to fight the effects, but it was a losing battle. Finally, the voice of Pedroche was completely drowned out, as the corrupted symbiote's eyes flashed in response to the evil of its captor.

"Ah, finally you have come to my way of thinking," the phlanged voice gloated. "Now, let's hear more about this Kheb…"

---

"I really just want to go home," a tearful Melia confided in her friend as they sat on her bed in the guest quarters. As predicted, the "secret burden" of which Oma spoke hadn't stayed a secret for long. Melia's thin waistline, temporarily made more so by her distracted state, began to fill out and her emotions became even more erratic. "There is just no way I can do this alone."

"You know you will never be alone as long as you are here," Oma turned Melia away from her and began brushing her hair "Have you attempted to contact Pedroche as you said you would?"

Melia rubbed her hand over her face, symbolic of the fatigue of body & spirit she was experiencing. "No, I just cannot stand the idea of him coming back just for his baby."

"Melia, he loves you, you know that. Besides, the child is his as well."

"I know." She turned back towards Oma. "Oma, he walked away from me out of a sense of duty for his people. They need him," she shrugged hopelessly. "I fell in love with him because of that sense of duty, of loyalty. I would effectively be asking him to give all that up, to leave his people and…" she turned away again, tears apparent in her eyes. Her voice got very quiet as she continued. "Besides, if he decided not to come, I think I would die from the rejection. I will not blackmail him like that."

Oma stood and stepped in front of her, making direct eye contact. "You have this all figured out, don't you? You have put him in a position where he cannot win, without even giving him a chance to defend himself." Oma lifted the eyes that Melia turned to the floor. "Give him that opportunity. Let him make the decision for himself. Maybe there is an option you had not considered."

"You are right," Melia responded with a heavy sigh. "Just because I do not see a way out of this it does not mean that one does not exist." She squared her shoulders and the determined look returned to her face for the first time in weeks. "Oma, would you mind passing word to the Tok'ra that I need to speak to Pedroche? I would not even know where to start looking now."

"Of course," Oma smiled, relieved to see that the tide of her friend's outlook was finally changing. "I believe I can arrange something."

"Thank you. Just let him know that I would like to speak with him. This is not exactly the kind of news you wish to receive by messenger."

"Consider it done." Oma turned to leave then paused. "In the mean time, there is someone else who may be interested in hearing from you."

Melia thought for a moment, and then shook her head sadly. "I cannot contact my father. I made my decision. I cannot just run to him as soon as times become difficult."

"A lone ember dies quickly." And with that, Oma left a very pensive, but somewhat more hopeful Melia to her thoughts.

---

Word of Pedroche's capture reached the Tok'ra as he joined forces with Anubis. With the tidbits of knowledge Pedroche had gained from Melia – stories of planets she had visited and people she had observed – the two Goa'uld had been slowly and quietly building an army. It was this information that Oma gleaned and returned to Melia.

"The Tok'ra have lost a great warrior and gained a powerful foe." Melia sat shocked as Oma broke the news. "The man you loved no longer exists. The symbiote within him has been corrupted and has shed everything to do with his former life, including his name."

The bad report crushed the last of Melia's resolve and she broke down in Oma's arms. As her tears subsided, she knew what she had to do. She wiped her eyes and straightened her shoulders. "I am ready to go home. If there is any chance that he can find out about our child, that child needs to be protected. This is your sanctuary. You have been more than kind to allow me to stay here, and I do not want to put all of this in any danger."

Oma gently placed a hand on the side of Melia's face.

Almost as an afterthought, Melia stopped Oma with a hand on her arm. "I have one more question."

"Yes?"

"You said Pedroche has changed his name. What name has he taken?" At Oma's hesitation, Melia continued, "I know, it really does not matter in the grand scheme, but I need to know."

"Ba'al. His new name is Ba'al."


End file.
